Does Starbucks Sell Kopi Luwak?

Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee or cat poop coffee, is undoubtedly one of the most unique types of coffee on the planet. It has a distinct, bold flavor that few have the pleasure of trying in their lifetime. This is why many speculators have been wondering when Starbucks will offer its own spin on kopi luwak, bringing one of the most exclusive coffees on the planet to the masses. So far, that question has gone unanswered.

Pure Kopi Luwak: The Healthiest Coffee in the World. Guaranteed.

Will Starbucks Ever Offer Kopi Luwak?

As of right now, you can’t get kopi luwak at any Starbucks in the world (though if you prefer to have kopi luwak delivered to your door, you’re in luck). However, it’s not out of the question for Starbucks to offer kopi luwak in the future. Here are a few reasons why:

Reason #1: Starbucks Already Sources Heavily From Indonesia

While various strands of cat poop coffee are available from several Southeast Asian nations—including the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand—everyone in the industry knows that the best kopi luwak comes from Indonesia (that’s where 100% of ours comes from, too). Starbucks already sources a large amount of its coffee from Indonesia, particularly from Indonesia’s largest island, Sumatra. As you can see in this press release, “Starbucks® Sumatra Dark Roast Coffee is the best-selling single origin coffee for Starbucks around the world.”

This is a big deal, because it means that Starbucks already has all of the infrastructure—the local coffee expertise, the permits and regulatory matters, the large workforce, the supply chain—established that it would need to start serving kopi luwak in its stores around the world. In other words, it would be easy for Starbucks to jump in and start serving kopi luwak almost immediately.

On top of the Reserve Roasteries, Starbucks also has Reserve Bars, which they’ve been rolling out quickly to cities in Canada and the United States (there are eight between New York City and Brooklyn alone). These Reserve Bars are like a scaled-down version of the Reserve Roasteries—not quite as grand, but they still have an impressive selection of specialty coffees sources from around the world, all of them at higher prices than you’d normally find at Starbucks.

The growth of these Reserve Roasteries and Reserve Bars signal that Starbucks wants to continue to move upmarket. At the pace they’re going, it’s only a matter of time before they go really big and start selling kopi luwak, too.

Why Starbucks Will Never Offer Cat Poop Coffee

While these are some compelling reasons for why Starbucks might add kopi luwak to its menu in the future, there is one major factor working against them: kopi luwak is in short supply. Since kopi luwak is first eaten by the civet cat before its beans are picked up by farmers, the global supply is dependent on these civet cats. Since 100% of our kopi luwak comes from wild civet cats in their natural habitat, sometimes all we can do is wait.

Contrast that with Starbucks, who buys more than 100 million pounds of coffee beans per year, and the problem is obvious: there’s simply not enough kopi luwak to satiate Starbucks’ enormous hunger.